INDEPENDENCE — Unlike many NBA teams, the Cavaliers are on solid financial footing and willing to spend money.
That means there’s a possibility, however remote, that Cleveland could buy another team’s pick and move up in the first round of the NBA Draft on Thursday night.
The Cavaliers own the 30th and final pick in the first round and the 16th choice in the second (46th overall), but owner Dan Gilbert has made it clear to general manager Danny Ferry that he’s willing to spend money if it will improve the team’s chances of winning an NBA title.
The Cavaliers can pay up to $3 million to acquire another club’s pick, and a number of financially strapped organizations will probably be willing to consider that offer.
Minnesota owns the sixth, 18th and 28th selections in the first round, so it wouldn’t be shocking if the Cavaliers made some type of offer for the Timberwolves’ choice at No. 18. Sacramento, which has the No. 4 pick and another at No. 23, might also be willing to part with the latter choice.
Other clubs with two picks in the first round include Oklahoma City (Nos. 3 and 25), Memphis (Nos. 2 and 27) and Chicago (Nos. 16 and 26), but their second picks in the first round would not represent a significant improvement from Cleveland’s current No. 30 position.
Even if the Cavaliers find someone willing to deal, the clubs will have to craft something the other team can sell to its fan base from a public relations standpoint. That won’t be easy, but with a lot of organizations losing a lot of money, it’s not impossible.
In addition, the Cavaliers aren’t going to buy a pick simply because one is available. They will do so only if a player they like is still on the board.
“You can’t have an exact road map,” Ferry said Monday. “We try to have as many tools at our disposal as we can.”
The Cavaliers, who won an NBA-high 66 games in the regular season but were eliminated by Orlando in six games in the Eastern Conference finals, would like to add a strong interior player, bench scoring, size in the backcourt and athleticism at the swingman position, but those needs may have to be addressed through trades and free agency.
If Cleveland stays at No. 30 — or even if it moves up — its primary objective in what is considered a very weak draft will be finding a player who can play in the NBA.
That means the Cavaliers could add another small point guard – that’s widely considered the strongest position in the draft – even though they already have diminutive Mo Williams, Delonte West and Daniel Gibson at that spot.
“We don’t know who’s going to be available between now and the start of the season,” Ferry said. “We don’t know who’s going to be available between now and the trade deadline.
“We need to get better. Having someone to match up with (Orlando center) Dwight Howard would be great. Having someone with size and athleticism would be great. That doesn’t always exist.”
The Cavaliers have brought in several dozen players to work out, with Ferry holding his final two eight-man sessions on Monday. Those workouts, however, can’t consist of much more than three-on-three games, per NBA rules. A number of other players turned down offers to come to town because they felt doing so might indicate they expected to fall that low in the draft.
Assistant GMs Chris Grant and Lance Blanks did get the opportunity to interview numerous draft candidates during a camp in Chicago, but actual talent evaluations were limited because five-on-five games are no longer held.
“(Grant) and our scouts have done a great job of comprehensively getting prepared,” Ferry said. “Overall, we feel good about our outlook of players who will be available on Thursday.”

Wild Thing

Reports that Dallas owner Mark Cuban has already offered Cavaliers power forward Anderson Varejao a three-year contract, which would constitute a serious breach of NBA rules, have been largely discredited.
Varejao is expected to opt out of the final year of his contract, which would pay him $6.2 million, and become an unrestricted free agent, but the earliest he and agent Dan Fegan can begin negotiations on a new deal is July 1.
“That’s not something for us to comment on,” Ferry said of the Varejao reports. “Anderson’s under contract (right now). We value his contributions.”

Big Ben

Veteran big man Ben Wallace, who said a day after the Cavaliers were eliminated by the Magic that he was considering retirement, recently left Cleveland for his offseason home in Virginia. Wallace is slated to earn $14 million next season, but it’s possible some type of buyout could be negotiated. Wallace’s expiring contract also could be attractive to another team in a trade, with that club then negotiating its own buyout with the veteran.
At the moment, though, the Cavaliers are in no hurry for anything to happen, in part because they realize a lot of conflicting thoughts could be running through Wallace’s head.
“I did sit down with him,” Ferry said. “We agreed that we’d talk again.”

Big Aristotle

When asked about renewed trade rumors that had Phoenix center Shaquille O’Neal coming to Cleveland, Ferry basically gave a non-answer.
“We’ve talked to every team,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of discussions with a lot of teams.
“There are always trade rumors,” he added. “Some of them are from leftfield. I don’t mind it right now. It’s the summer. During the season, I get aggravated sometimes.”

Slow and steady

J.J. Hickson, whose rookie season was shut down in early April due to lower back soreness, has not resumed playing and probably will not take part in summer league action. Stressing Hickson does not have a herniated disk, Ferry said the goal is to have the power forward at full strength when training camp opens in October.
Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

---

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

---

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.

---